To Tame the Flame, Love's the Game
by JStormRaider7
Summary: A pissed off Danny comes across an even more pissed off Ember. They are exact opposites but they are more alike than either of them ever realized and want the same thing: to be loved. Will they somehow find it in each other? How far can that love go? Or will things flame out and things return back to how they were? Can love really triumph over all? Or can adversity destroy all?
1. Chapter 1

Danny flew through town patrolling Amity Park with a lot on his mind. No activity so far today and Danny was actually pissed off about it. He needed to take his aggression out on something. He almost wished he would spot a ghost trying to cause trouble. All of a sudden, his ghost sense went off.

'Finally! Something to scratch this itch.' He thought to himself.

From down below he heard screaming. He averted his eyes downward to spot a number of people running out of an electronics store. Turning invisible, he flew down and proceeded to phase inside with caution as to carefully assess the situation and possible threat but also to make sure he wouldn't be seen.

There was one of his typical foes, Ember McClain. She was threatening the poor employee at the counter and had him shitting himself.

"P- please, don't hurt me!"

"Oh! And why not?!" She shouted as she raised her guitar to attack.

"Because you being seen in an orange jumpsuit and being held in Walker's prison would really hurt your PR value!"

Ember's head snapped around to look at the source.

"Ah! Looks like the dipstick finally decided to show. I was starting to think you wouldn't. Anyway, It's about time but you're a little late to the show!"

'Wait. She was expecting me?'

"Alright, Ember. I'm going to give you three choices. Surrender and go back to the Ghost Zone, willingly. Fight me, get beat, before I shoot you back in through the Fenton Portal, myself. Or Surrender and go back to the Ghost Zone, willingly. Personally, I prefer the second option, but the first and third choices aren't bad, either."

"Aww, you WANT me to fight you? Dipstick, I'm flattered you see me as a worthy foe. In terms of your first option, sorry, babypop, but I've been having a rough day and I need someone to take my frustrations out on!" She said as she turned the knob on her guitar and struck a cord on her guitar.

All of a sudden, Danny is met with a large fist in the form of overly-amplified energy being shot at him. He is hit and flies back into a rack of DVD and VHS players.

'Ow,' Danny said to himself, rubbing his head. 'If she wants to play it like that..'

Ember laughed as she gloated. "That was too easy! Don't tell me you're getting soft-" she said before she was struck with a blast of Danny's ice powers and was frozen into place inside of a glacier.

"Why don't you cool off, Rockstar and hold still while I suck you up into my thermos!"

Ember saw him pulling it out.

'Oh no. He's not going to beat me again. Not this time!' Ember thought as her eyes turned blood red and thought about her millions of adoring fans chanting her name. The intensity in her hair's flame began to increase. As soon as the ice weakened, Ember could move enough to strike the same chord as before, blasting the ice in all directions.

Danny turned intangible so the ice chunks didn't hit him.

"I thought you said you were going to give me the chance to fight! Oh well, when I'm done, you'll be sure you'll regret that little stunt!" And fired again at Danny. Danny flew out of the way just in time and turned in visible as he flanked Ember from behind.

"Arghh! Dipstick, show yourself so I can beat you!"

Ember felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around to see Danny just in time as he shot an ectoblast from his hands. This time, it was her turn to take a trip to aisle 3: DVD's and VCR's. Danny shot out of the store and Ember was hot on his trail.

Ember flew up to meet him at 150 feet.

"What with all the cheap shots today, dipstick? You normally fight a fair battle!"

"Why don't you tell me what's got you so pissed off that you off to scare a random, defenseless store cashier?! Having money problems?"

"That's none of your concern, dipstick!" She said, swinging her guitar at Danny. He dodged in time and the two engaged in a dance of two red auras.

After 20 minutes, neither side could get the advantage.

Danny had fared better and Ember seemed to be fighting dirtier than he ever remembered.

'Damn. She is SUPER pissed off. And I thought I was mad.'

Danny winced as he moved through the air. Ember had gotten him good a few times during their engagement. He didn't know how much more he could handle... and she showed no signs of slowing down or cooling down.

'I think my temper has tapered off but she looks like she could keep going all day long. I have to put a stop to this.'

An evil smirk stretched across Ember face.

'He's tired! Now! Finally! Maybe I can finally have something go right in my afterlife and defeat the dipstick for a change.'

Danny hunched over to give off a look of weariness as he panted but made sure to keep watch of her out of the corner of his eye. Ember quickly cleared the distance and swung down at his head with her guitar, like an ax.

At the last second, he dodged the attack and grabbed her guitar.

"What?! Dipstick! Give me back my guitar NOW!" Ember screamed as her hair flared in fury.

"You want the guitar back? You're gonna have to catch me first, hothead!" He retorted back as he raced away.

Ember shot after him. If looks could kill, Phantom would be in the after-life, full-ghost by now. She followed him to a nearby. Seemingly abandoned industrial park where he landed in on the top of a building in construction.

When Ember landed, she was about to give him a piece of her mind. Until, Danny spoke up.

"You know.. I could break this thing, and you would be virtually useless for the rest of your life!"

"W- wait. What, babypop?" Ember squeaked.

"Yeah, maybe I should! Give me one good reason I shouldn't just break your stupid guitar right here, right now on the spot! You have done no good with this thing except cause people misery!"

Ember was taken back. She didn't know the dipstick was capable of talking to her or anybody this way. Over the years, she had grown to understand that he would always be a good guy, and do the right thing. Now, however, he was showing off a side to him she never knew. And whatever it was, she didn't like it.

"Wait! Let's get something straight, babypop! It is NOT stupid! You don't know what that guitar means to me! And second, is this what you've been reduced to now! Are you really, possibly turning into the biggest asshole I've ever met!" Ember screamed.

This time, it was Danny's turn to be taken back.

'Woah. I had no idea this thing meant so much to her.'

He let out a sigh. "Ember, I'm sorry. I- I guess I just didn't know how much this guitar meant to you. I don't know anything about you or your past, really."

"Yeah, well maybe you should learn a ghost before you demonize one!"

"To be fair, you are a villian, though. You've tried to brainwash the world many times with your hypnotic music and tactics."

"Again! You know nothing about me!" She shouted back.

"Then tell me."

"What?"

"Teach me about the real Ember McClain. And I just might give you back your guitar."

Ember was.. Speechless. 'The dipstick really wants to know about me? I thought he hated me with a passion.'

"Hold on a second, babypop, you're gonna have to tell me about yourself, too."

"What do you want to know?"

"Like why you were just about to break my guitar. And why you WANTED to fight me back in the electronics store?" Ember said as raised an eyebrow and tapped her boot.

"Oh, that. Right." Danny said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, so spill."

"Alright. This is going to take a little while."


	2. Chapter 2

"So you're saying they-?!"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe that- I mean, she was- I never really suspected that she would ever-"

"She did. Sam cheated on me."

"And with the geek, too. Yuck!" Ember's face contorted.

"I know. I can't believe it quite myself, either." Danny said has he sighed, casting his eye down to the ground below them from the edge of the building where they sat. "I thought, ya know, she loved me like I loved her. But it turns out, she was only using me to get Tuck's attention."

"Again, ew. But, I guess I understand." Ember said softly, her eyes now downcast.

Danny looked over at her, he could tell she was in deep thought.

"You know, if it's too much, you don't have to talk about it."

"No. You told me what's wrong with you. I may be a bad-girl rocker but I always keep my end of the deal."

He waited a few seconds for Ember to continue.

"When I was 16, and still alive, I was never popular." Ember paused again before continuing, "But- I always wanted to be somebody. Somebody special, famous and loved. My parents were never home a lot and if you thought it was hard to get love from your classmates, think about how it would feel to never even get that love you crave for from home."

'Wow. I never even thought about it that way. Y- yeah, that would totally suck' He thought.

Danny kept his eyes on her, letting her continue.

"All my existence has been trying to get others to love me for me. Music was always a part of who I was and I knew I had a gift for playing and singing. I thought that if I could use that, I could get them to fall in love with me."

Ember stopped again. "One day, it appeared my luck had changed. Tommy Maddox finally happened. The popular boy at my school approached me at my locker one day at school and told me he saw my concert the other night. I couldn't believe it! I was thrilled that Tommy even knew my name... and he asked me to go to the movies with him on that Friday night. As you could imagine, I was estatic so I said yes. Friday comes, a cold night in September and I wait for him there at the theatre. I had already bought the tickets with babysitting money I earned looking after the Olsen twins from the previous week. But he never came..." Ember said softly, her eyes searching the ground beneath their feet.

"After about an hour of waiting, I knew, Danny. I knew, he was never going to come." She said, lifting her head to look straight into his attentive eyes.

She shrugged and sighed. "I went home. I was in tears. He stood me up and I felt like the world had just ended. I, too, thought I knew what love was, even for just that one day. And- that's why it hurts so much." She fought off the welling in her eyes.

"Oh, Ember. I'm so sorry. I didn't know about any of this." Danny replied and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. But you know why my hair is "fire"? Because when I went home that night. I cried myself to sleep and I never woke up again. I learned later the house had somehow caught fire, and that's how I died. Unloved. Now a broken ghost of a girl." Ember barely said before she hiccuped and finally let the tears start to flow.

'Oh my god. She wanted to be loved just like anyone else. Just like me. And I took my aggression out on someone who just wants to be loved just as much.' Danny thought now feeling like a total piece of trash.

To her surprise, Danny brought her in for a hug. Ember didn't know how to react at first but decided to let the waterworks, flow. She cried into his shoulder, her past, laid out bare. Her past, scars that never fully healed. A past, that determined her future. No. Danny wouldn't let that happen, he thought.

They sat still, holding each other in their arms. Ember kept her face buried in his chest, while Danny tried to sooth her, running his fingers through her now tamely lit, robin-egg blue fiery hair.

Ember was now starting to feel something she never experienced before... could it be? She melted into the sensation of Danny's caress and his surprisingly muscular hold.

'I always thought he was whimpy but babypop actually has something underneath it all. He doesn't seem all that bad, either. He seems to caring, mature and knows how to treat people. I wonder what it would be like to be on his side for once?'

Meanwhile, Danny was also in thought.

'Beneath her bad-girl, hardcore, rockstar persona, she just seems like a normal girl. I mean, who doesn't want to be loved? I bet she doesn't even have any friends or anyone to talk to on a regular basis. I guess it wouldn't hurt if I offered to be her friend. A crazy concept, sure. But isn't my job to make everyone's lives better?'

After about 10 more minutes, they broke their hold. Danny looked into her eyes and was only reaffirmed to what he thought earlier. She IS a normal girl. It was at that moment that he knew, he wanted to be someone to give her the care and attention she desired.

Ember blinked as she stared back into his lovely neon-green eyes. Wait. Where did that come from? It didn't matter. She just now experienced her first real taste in love, even if it was just an innocent, platonic kind, since as far back as she could remember. Was it platonic, though? Did she want it to be more?

They smiled as Ember began to giggle. Danny wasn't too far behind.

'Wow. I never heard her GIGGLE before. It's pretty cute.'

"What?" Danny laughed.

"W- what are y- you laughing about?" Ember said in her own fit.

"I- I don't know, but it seems laughing Is c- contagious and I g- got it from y- you. O- out with it." Danny continued in his fit.

"Well, Danny, I guess I'm kind of enjoying the after effects you've given me. I never really felt this cared about before. Maybe you aren't so bad." Ember winked as she playfully punched him in the arm.

Danny rubbed his arm and smiled. "Well, rockstar. I just realized that you weren't too much different than anybody else. You have wanted love. If you're willing, I'd like for us to maybe be friends."

"What?!"

"Yeah. I mean I know we're enemies, but it doesn't always have to be that way. I think we may have both learned more about each other tonight and we're both kind of lacking in love. Maybe we could love each other. I mean! Not in THAT way.." Danny blushed.

Ember blushed beat red. "I- I'd like that, babypop."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief and remembered something.

"Oh, here is your guitar, Ember. A promise is a promise, so here." He said as he handed it to her.

"Thanks, dipstick." She softly said as she looked down at it.

'I guess she's gonna want to go now' Danny thought dejectedly.

"Did I ever tell you the story behind my guitar?"

Danny looked at her again and shook his head. Ember nodded.

"Well, when I was 14, my parents had bought me a guitar for my birthday. It was a classic Kay KDG 70 S Acoustic Guitar. I loved that thing more than anything in the world. You see, Babypop, as my Mom and Dad weren't around much and I didn't have many friends, it was the closest thing to me. It was as good as any human friend that I could possibly have because it always had a way of making me happy in times when I was sad. I t brought out the best in me and my abilities, and I grew in my music and expressed myself perfectly because of it. It was a safe haven, a comfort, and it became a part of who I was, and still am. Music has never left me, Danny. And that was why I got all hysterical when you said you were gonna break it. I lost the original in the fire. When arrived in the Ghost Zone and my realm had formed, I was given this one, in It's formation, with it. My guitar is forever etched into my soul. Music. Without them, I am nothing at all."

"Wow, Ember. I am so, so sorry! I'm glad I didn't break it then."

"Same here." She mumbled.

"Thank you for telling me this. You didn't have to.

"It's alright, babypop. I told you It's fine. Like I said, I always hold up my end of the deal. Now you know." Ember stated as she got up off the roof's surface.

Danny followed suit.

"Hey, Ember. Listen, if you ever want to hang out, I can-"

"Tomorrow"

"What?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday, Babypop. I'm free. Maybe we can do something."

He smiled. "That would be awesome, actually."

"Great!" Ember smiled back.

They looked down and saw that their hands had grabbed a hold of the others. The sunset, only made the scene seem more romantic than it really was. Ember blushed. But Danny didn't let go.

"I'm not trying anything Ember. I don't know how we got to holding hands, but if anything, take this as a sign that you can trust me. I'll always care for you and love you.. As a friend, I mean!" Danny quickly added.

Ember's blush magnified at his statement and she nodded her head. She reached up to give him a little "friendly" kiss on the reach. "Thanks, Danny." She whispered.

At that, she vanished in a whirlwind of flames.

Danny smiled, and rubbed the spot where Ember kissed. "I think this will be the start of something new. And something tells me it will be very special."

Danny flew off into the sunset. He needed to get home to rest and prepare for a special day tomorrow, with a special girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, so I know some of you were waiting on more for this story after several months but I think I'm going to go ahead and mark this one as complete. The story has already severed its purpose I realized (they both wanted to find someone to give them love when they were lacking it, even if it started as a friendly kind) and I have other projects I want to work on. Thanks for your support and keep looking for other stories I put up if you like my content and follow me for alerts to stay in the know. Thanks!**

**JStorm**


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